[Ransom]

Angolos angrily berated himself for his carelessness as he struggled to free himself from under the ancient bookshelf. While the cold and dry air of the cave system had left the ancient papers and furniture intact, decay and entropy had still done quite a bit of work. The wood of the bookshelf, having grown soft and weak, could crumble under the slightest touch. He should have considered that, especially since he was alone. Quite suddenly, he felt the wood and paper cocoon shift around him. If he was not already frightened by the mishap and the mysterious figure, the movements brought idea of being buried alive to the front of his mind. This was certainly not his day.

However, after what seemed to be an eternity of uncertainty, his weary body slowly informed him that a great weight had been lifted from his back. Angalos , sensing that he might be able to wriggle out, began to renew his efforts. While the frame and back of the bookshelf was still fairly sturdy, the papers and the shelves had been almost completely destroyed by age. However, it still took quite a bit of effort before the human managed to pull his body out of the pile of his rubble. He lay panting for some time before gingerly establishing that none of his limbs had been broken. Finally, he managed to pull himself up with the help of a nearby table.

It was quite obvious that the phantom he had seen earlier had been in the room. The frame of the bookshelf bore the evidence of several blows from some sort of heavy tool, and the back of the shelf had been thrown aside. At the very least, this mysterious visitor wasn’t entirely hostile. Why else would he have allowed the man to life? Angoloe pondered this new turn of events as he headed back toward the still burning candle. His eyes caught sight of a small scrap of paper underneath the candle. From the near absence of wax, it obviously had not been there very long. Curiously, he lifted the candle and quickly read the unsigned message.

Gentleman-

It would be very wise to leave the Empty Mountain now, lest any more unfortunate accidents occur.

[ March 27, 2003: Message edited by: Ransom ]

[ May 24, 2003: Message edited by: Ransom ]